Snow Reflections...

I must admit, I love the first snowfall of the year and this year's may be the best yet. We were awakened on Wednesday morning to 3 inches of fresh powder gently falling from the skies. You know the stuff that usually only appears on Christmas cards or sappy Christmas movies (both of which I love!) As K was working on a "craft", I was able to grab a minute to reflect out the window. I had just tried to explain to her that there wasn't snow in Bethlehem (we'd been playing with her navitity set). But as I gazed out the window, I realized how that white, perfectly white snow was a reminder of God's love... of that fact that in His eyes we have been washed cleaner that than perfect snow. And now, after another day of less than perfect moments with a 2 year old and another 3 inches of fresh snow, I am so grateful for His forgiveness and love. Without it, winter (and life!) just wouldn't be the same.

Blessings on all your snowfalls...

I'm back...

I'm back from a very quick trip to visit our new little bug. She is just cuter than cute and what a set of lungs! She's most definitely a Schnettler girl!!!

But I must say, as I often still refer to K as my little baby or my little girl, this little Bug makes K look like a little lady... what happened to my baby????

Beautiful...

is all I can say about my new niece. Miss Avery Denise Harms arrived on Friday at 10:44 AM. She was 7lbs 9 oz and 18.8 inches long. I am actually in Virginia (thanks to really cheap airfare!) and got to see her last night, sound asleep. She is so beautiful. I'll post a few pictures when I get back home tomorrow morning. If you want to see some "fresh" photos of Avery, check out her mommy and daddy's blog. Happy Snow, folks!

http://theltandgooddoctorharms.blogspot.com/

Its a Small World...

As some of you know, I am convinced that our town of Springfield Ohio is much smaller than anyone says it is. I know there are suppose to be 65,000 people hear, but I am really, truly, convinced there are, maybe, 2000. Everywhere we go, we are running into people we know, people who know people we know, people who are related to people we know... you get the point. And this just didn't start happening now that we've been here 20 (yes, as of tomorrow!) months. Its been happening since day 1! I sometimes think its worse than the Luther cult!

Anyway, now its happening in my blogging world... what's the chance that the 2 blogs I read the most (one in little town MN and one in big town Cinci) would have a link to the SAME blog????? There are 1000's, millions...How very strange.

More Random Things...

I am really kind of liking remembering all the random things about myself! so here are a few more:

- I am the oldest of 5.

- Although my mother shutters at the thought, I LOVE instant chocolate pudding - not cook and serve!

- I love Oreos completely immersed in ice cold milk.... or with Corona beer (but not dunked).

- I totally believe that if a stuffed animal tells you their name or makes eye contact, you have to purchase them (my sisters totally get that one!)

- I have (proudly) owned a Brett Favre jersey since high school (and am blogging this while watching the packers and the cowboys- GO PACK!)

- I hate bananas...flavor, texture, anything about them, except their color.

- I once got lost on a bus in Nagasaki, Japan... who knew there were 3 #1 buses, all in Japanese!

- I once played a stork in a play (it was Aesop's fables - circa 1992!)

- I am really afraid this list could go on forever!

- The only entree I have ever ordered at the Cheesecake Factory (and I've been there close to a dozen times) is the Orange Chicken.... usually with Snickers Cheesecake (but sometimes that will vary!)

- The building of my first apartment after college was 95% occupied by people over 70...nice and quiet, but our neighbor died and we didn't even know it for weeks (remember that, maria!)

Oh, I could really go on with this.... but the Packers are now only down by 3 and I have to start concentrating on the game. Happy Randomness, Everyone!

Auntie Jill...

Well for those of you who want to know, my sister will be delivering Baby Tate tomorrow AM!!! We know this because as K says... Baby Tate is not cooperating! (He/She is breech). We do not know if we will be auntie/uncle to a niece or nephew, what the name will be, or anything else. Just that he/she will arrive tomorrow. Please say a little extra prayer for Amy, Marty and Tate. We are so excited that they get to join us in this adventure of parenting!

I'll post more when I know more... maybe even a picture of our little baby tate!

7 Random Things about me...

Since I have been tagged... here I go:

1. I lived in the same house while growing up (age birth to 18) but had 5 different bedrooms.
2. My goldfish were named Donny and Marie (yes, after the Osmonds) and I wanted to BE MARIE!! (not so much anymore....8 kids would do me in!)
3. My best friend growing up (rachel) and I call each other elephant ears... and we can't remember why!
4. In college, one of our stress relievers was to put drop ice cubes between the stairwells while aiming for empty cups. (and we WERE sober!)
5. If I am painting, moving, or heavily cleaning, I can drink beer at anytime of day.
6. I have a scar above my right ear from a metal ceiling fan in Nigeria.
7. The sound or sight (or really thought) of anyone vomiting makes me want to do the same, unless its my daughter or husband.

How's that for random!?!?!

Honey, please come here...

Well, I have a new name. Honey. My dear K has apparently decided that I am no longer just Mommy, Mom, and Mama... but I am also Honey (and occasionally, Hon). I really don't mind it, but its truly hysterical to hear your 2 year old daughter say "Honey, where is my juice" or "Its okay, Hon". I am happy to report that Mom (and its derivatives) are still being used most of time, but this new name thing sure is good for laughs!

Big Day... All around

Well, November 13 must be some special day in a galaxy I have yet to encounter. Today is a momentous day for many reasons. It's our god-daughter (Princess Pigtails) baptismal birthday, its the 2 year anniversary of us finding out we were moving to Ohio (or at least given the chance to move) and now today, K decided to try out the new potty chair... WITH SUCCESS (and it was #2!!!). Given all those great things, its been a day of great reflection and thanksgiving for our family.

Today is National Prematurity Awareness day, sponsored by the March of Dimes. As many of you know, we (especially me, Honey, but that name is a whole other posting... stay tuned) has gotten very involved with MOD after K's early arrival in our lives. So today, we went down to Dayton to support our local MOD and meet some other families. I am always amazed and reminded of how wonderful our God is when you see these babies (and some grown kids) and their families. We met some amazing people (and in our typical small world fashion, they were from - yep, you guessed it, Minnesota!) and heard some absolutely amazing stories... stories of God's goodness, His Love, and his always-perfect timing. These events also always remind me of how blessed we are to have our wonderfully healthy, active K. Sometimes it hits so me so hard, I just can't even think about it and yet at other times, it really helps me be more of the mother that I think God intends me to be.

So tonight please say a prayer for all those little ones... born healthy, born too early, born in God's perfectness but not the world's, and for all those we're waiting to arrive!

Question of the Day...

As my friend "the mama" can attest to, I often come up with a random question of the day.... well, here's today:

• Do parents really think its a good idea to take their kids into Toys R Us at this time of year ? Did they not anticipate the "I WANT IT" tirades and tantrums in advance? Did they not learn their lesson last year?

I know it sounds mean, but as a parent... I just can't imagine trying to take "K" into the store, not now when she's 2 and I have no plans to do it as she gets older.

Fall Weather

Today is one of those days when Autumn seems to really exist. After a more than miserable weekend of weather (cold, rainy, gray...) today is 63, sunny, and slightly breezy. Normally this wouldn't call for a celebration, but we went to the park today, and its Nov 12 - so celebrate we will!

Some days it seems as though God is teasing us with the kind of weather, but I really think its His way of reminding us that beautiful, warm days are ahead... both here on earth and in Eternity.

Oh, and just for the record...

we realize that we refer to ourselves as "Minnesota McGregors" and we're living in the Buckeye state. We do know that we really should be the "Iowa McGregor's who met in Iowa at college, she's really from Wisconsin, and then moved to Minnesota after graduation and now live in Ohio because of His job.".... just that just seemed to long! Plus, the first time we said "Uff da" or "don't ya' know"... they figured out we're not really from here, anyway (as if the lack of buckeye "stuff" didn't give it away!)

Snow, Snow, Snow

It really was snow, but only for a brief 25 seconds. Just long enough for us to check in with our Minnesota connection to find out it wasn't snowing there. I imagine that many were wondering why K and I were so excited in the mall parking lot... but I admit, I like snow. As one of my girlfriends and I discuss on a regular basis... we can handle cold, as long it comes with lots of sunshine and pretty white snow on the ground. Now, I'm NOT (read that as bold as you can) advocating for days with air temperatures of -25, and wind chills are in the -40's...where a can of diet coke will freeze and explode in your car and cover the entire roof of your car with diet coke slushy (be prepared when you turn on the heater!). But I am all in favor of winter, white beautiful, winters! So here is to winter coming.... (and leaving too!)

True Peace...

It always amazes me at the sense of calm and peace I get from glancing in at Kelsey before I go to bed. Tonight she must have been dreaming about food, as she was literally chewing in her sleep. Its just amazing to watch them...especially when they're quiet.(a truly rare event at our house!)

Another New Adventure

This is my second adventure in technology in the past month... the first one was joining Facebook. (Thanks, Kya!) I'm not sure who's going to read this or what we'll really write out here, but it will be a fun adventure - just like everything else we do!